I am extremely excited to announce that I am one of the winners of the American Educators of Italian Origin (AEIOU) 42nd Annual Opera Scholarship Competition! Past winners include Carol Vaness, Deborah Voight, and Rod Gilfry. I will be singing Nanetta’s Aria from Verdi’s Falstaff at the dinner dance in downtown Los Angeles at the Casa Italiana this Saturday night, March 24.
Los Angeles-based singer April Amante has garnered praise for her uniquely versatile voice and outstanding musicianship. Her repertoire spans more than four centuries of music, and encompasses the classical, popular, and musical theater vocal genres. Her rich, warm tone and expressive and engaging stage persona make her an audience favorite, and Pulitzer/Grammy/Academy Award-winning composer John Corigliano, in response to April’s performance of his song “Forever Young”, wrote “April did a beautiful job with my song. She has a long line and beautiful sound...I really enjoyed listening to it...my warmest congratulations.”
Among April’s many theatrical roles are Offenbach’s La Perichole (title role), Valencienne in Lehar’s The Merry Widow, Drusilla in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, Polly Peachum in The Threepenny Opera, Sister Genevieve in Puccini's Suor Angelica, and Adelaide in Guys and Dolls. April created the role of Marketing Director in the 2008 premiere of Paul Salerni’s opera Tony Caruso’s Final Broadcast for National Opera Association, and she has been a featured concert soloist at Songfest in Malibu, Hawaii Performing Arts Festival, and the Pacific Opera Institute.
Her love of contemporary music has made April a valued collaborator to living composers, with recent premieres of songs by Nathanael Pangrazio in Carmel-by-the-Sea and Adam Gilberti’s cabaret song cycle “And Everything in Between” for LA’s Music on Argyle series. In 2011 she performed a full-length song recital with pianist James Lent for Classical Music Encounters of Orange County and she was the featured soloist for San Luis Obispo Opera’s “Broadway by the Sea.”
April earned her Bachelor of Music (BM) degree magna cum laude in Vocal Performance at California State University-Northridge and her Master of Music (MM) degree at the University of Arizona. She has worked with voice teachers Juliana Gondek, Kathleen Darragh, Faye Robinson, and Deanna Murray, and with coaches Brad Ellis, Brent McMunn, and Dan Bridston.
